Storage Problem - We Have Too Much Of It!!

I know what you're thinking... How can a family of four possibly have too much storage?! Well, it is an integral part of my nature to be pragmatic. Especially when buying furniture. That's why I love Ikea so much! It's cheap, because what's the point in spending lots of money on beautiful furniture pieces that will likely end up crayoned on? But, I also like it because the furniture is so functional. I never buy anything without first considering how much stuff we can hide in it.

Because of this, I have ended up with lots of empty drawers in the living room. Storage in the living room presents a problem anyway, as I can only store things here which are child friendly. My kids are old enough now that I leave them playing in the living room while I cook in the kitchen next door or run some laundry upstairs. We all know how little time it takes for kids to wreak havoc on some fun new "toy" they just found.

I'd really like to store my wrapping and parcel papers in the long drawers of this bureau. Those little drawers would be perfect for pens and tape, and the drop-down section could hold stationery, cards, and things. Can you imagine the fun the kids would have with that?! For now, one drawer keeps our fleece blankets and throws neat, because although it is irritating to have to fold blankets several times a day it's a better option than trying to re-roll paper onto a dented telescope.. erm... megaphone... erm... paper roll.

The wicker baskets in this IKEA Expedit would hold lots of things, but the kids frequently go in there and pull out their contents. So, for now, they just hold bibs, scruffs, mopping up towels and hats and scarves. Half of them are empty and a couple only have one or two things in there.

Expedit number two holds some of the kids' toys. We used to have all their toys in the living room, but we changed that for our sanity. I'll talk about that later.

Lastly, we have the "Big Unit". My relationship with Big Unit is a love/hate one. I love that we can store things up high out of the children's reach and I love that no one can see what clutter lies behind those doors until they open them. I hate it because it is massive and dark and takes over the room. It's also a clutter attractamatron. Everything gets put here. I am working on a solution to that though, which I am pretty excited about.

So my mission of the moment is to streamline the things we have in these cupboards already - I am sure there is a TON that can be relocated or thrown away. Then I will work on finding childproof items to store here which will free up space elsewhere. It may not be ergonomically ideal, but I guess you have to make concessions when you have young kids.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to let me know what you store in your family living room.

I linked up to Furniture Feature Friday